Our board

Richard is a lecturer in accounting and finance at West Suffolk College with a primary interest in the business case for sustainability. Previously, he was head of finance and sustainability at Adnams plc, the award-winning brewery and distillery based in Southwold, famous for its eco-distribution centre, its energy-efficient brewhouse and its 240,000 honey bees. Under Richard's tenure, Adnams won 15 major awards for their sustainability achievements, all of which were linked to clear financial business cases.

Richard holds a first-class accounting degree from the University of Wales and is a chartered management accountant. He held a series of commercial finance and controller roles at BT before joining Adnams.

Outside of work, Richard is on the board of the National Trust / Ashden's Fit for the Future network and the ICAEW's sustainability committee.

Mattie Yeta was appointed as Chief Sustainability Officer for CGI in the UK in March 2022. A member of CGI’s UK Executive. She has substantial experience and expertise in sustainable development at strategic and delivery levels across the public and private sectors. She has led substantive change in the sustainable development arena through various boards she sits on. She has obtained significant experience in stakeholder engagement through her career, including at senior executive levels, strategy development, influencing and drafting industry policy, project and programme management, people management and development experience.

Mattie led the creation of the e-Sustainability Alliance, a network of 300 private sector organisations she chaired, working in partnership with the United Nations and other stakeholders. She also led the creation of the Cabinet Office One Government Cloud Strategy Sustainability Workstream, the UK Government’s Sustainable Technology Report 2017 and the Sustainability Industry Guide to help businesses achieve sustainable outcomes. Mattie has extensive experience of working with the United Nations (UNFCCC, UNEP, UNGC, UNICEF, UNDP). She received the “industry sustainability leader of the year” award, “digital leader impact award” the Civil Service award as “highly commended”, Defra’s corporate services award for “leading through change,” and was a nominee for “the most influential women in UK tech.” She has received her Majesty’s Royal Honour for her contribution to sustainability in the UK and globally and was recently announced in the top 100 sustainability power leaders.

The former Head of Sustainability for Defra IT/UK Government, and a PhD researcher specialising in corporate sustainability, green economics, and national recovery, she is also a tutor on the University of Oxford Climate Change Programme.

As Director of Responsible Business, Shamir has overall responsibility for Corporate Social Responsibility and Energy & Environment and also oversees the organisation’s Green Plan, responsible business offer and social and governance framework.

Prior to joining NHS Property Services, Shamir was Head of Building Performance Services at BRE (Building Research Establishment). He is a leading expert on sustainability challenges in the built environment, has an Engineering Doctorate from Loughborough University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and a Chartered Environmentalist. Shamir is also Visiting Professor of ESG Performance and Strategy at Loughborough University.

Shamir has held responsibility for a wide variety of business areas in previous roles including energy modelling, BREEAM and the BRE Academy and he is also a former board member and co-founder of the Supply Chain Sustainability School and former chair of the Construction industry coalition on Modern Slavery. He plays an active role in industry standards, is involved with both European and International work.

Cathie is an experienced EHS leader having worked in multinational FTSE 100 companies, leading Environment, Health and Safety International Services Teams and holding a variety of Vice President EHS Corporate leadership and governance roles in Pharmaceuticals/Healthcare sectors.

She is focused on EHS leadership, driving risk reduction and effective EHS management to support human health, sustainable planet and sustainable business practices in international companies.

The scope of Cathie’s activities have also included establishing an EHS supplier oversight team focused on engagement, assessment and capability build with third party suppliers.

Cathie is an Environmental Science graduate with a PhD in Environmental Management and Auditing.

Cathie is MIEMA and Chartered Environmentalist as well as CMIOSH and Registered Safety Practitioner.

She is passionate about developing people and has led EHS cohorts of an in-company international development programme recruiting and developing graduates into EHS Professionals over a number of years.

Cathie is an Executive and Professionals Coach focused on people’s growth. She has worked globally with clients across Pharmaceuticals, FMCG, R&D, Commercial, Finance and Tech.

Nicola is the Head of Legal and Company Secretary at New Look, the leading omnichannel UK retailer for womenswear. Previously Nicola was Head of Legal and Company Secretary at The Deltic Group.

Nicola has held a number of NED roles in the past, including at The Hertfordshire Football Association and the OneYMCA. She has extensive experience in governance, audit, risk management and compliance, as well supporting businesses and their boards through complex legal matters, with international elements.

She is a firm believer in helping businesses understand complex legal matters in a straight forward manner.

Nicola is also a passionate advocate for DE&I and mentoring schemes.

Arlette originally qualified as an Environmentalist and has two Post Graduate Diplomas in Occupational Safety & Health and Environmental Management & Assessment. Arlette is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment and a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health. She has been advising and supporting organisations to ensure people remain safe and well at work but also protecting the environment for future generations. Her approach has been to benefit people not just inside the world of work, but also wider outside of work with a focus on environmental sustainability.

Arlette is experienced in both the private and public sector, is Non-Executive Director for IEMA, Chair of the IEMA Professional Standards Committee, Chair of the IEMA Fellows Nomination Committee, a member of the IOSH Performance and Development Committee and past Chair of the IOSH Broadcasting and Telecommunications Committee Specialist Group. She is well placed to advise on the effectiveness of development and performance of sustainability agenda across many sectors and organisations to ensure organisations are accountable not only to their employees but also wider stakeholders and shareholders in delivering positive business change.

Sarah Mukherjee MBE is the CEO of IEMA. Previously Sarah was the BBC’s Environment correspondent, presenting on national and international BBC radio and television, winning awards across the world. After leaving the corporation, she held leadership roles in various sectors including utilities and agriculture. Sarah was a panel member for the National Parks Review and the Glover Review and also sat on the National Food Strategy Advisory Panel. She is co-chair of the Natural England Landscape Advisory Panel as well as Non-executive Director on the Board of the Environment Agency. In 2021 Sarah was awarded an MBE for her services to agriculture and farmer well-being.

Since joining IEMA Sarah has been instrumental in implementing a Diverse Sustainability Initiative (DSI) strategy.

In her spare time, Sarah enjoys martial arts, has been a 'Campaign for Real Ale' judge, as well as a rugby reporter.

Martin Baxter is Deputy CEO at the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA). He works in the UK and internationally to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future and support people in the development of sustainability skills and green careers.

Martin has national and international experience in developing and negotiating global and European environmental management standards and developing capacity for effective and widespread implementation. Martin heads the UK delegation to the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) on environmental management and chairs the ISO environmental management systems committee of ~100 countries. He is also vice-chair of the European Standards CEN/CENELEC Strategic Advisory Body on the Environment.

Martin is a Board member of IEMA, the Society for the Environment (SocEnv) and the Broadway Initiative.

Evelyn Doyle is Head of People and Culture, International, for Patagonia, based in Amsterdam. Originally from Ireland, Evelyn has lived and worked in Russia, Africa and Switzerland, holding leadership roles in the fields of human resource management, talent management, and culture and organisation development initiatives for global organisations in with-profit, non-profit and social entrepreneurship sectors.

Evelyn is passionate about positively transforming work environments and business models, nurturing employees to develop their individual voices, through a collaborative, human-centred culture, where everyone is welcomed and valued. She has been instrumental in establishing bespoke, structured programmes, featuring external experts in the fields of leadership development, environmentalism, academia and business, for personal and professional development. At Patagonia, she is responsible for building an international employee community, across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM, that embodies the brand’s reason for being: We’re in business to save our home planet.

Outside of her work at Patagonia, Evelyn is a member of the advisory board of Net Impact Amsterdam and a non-executive director for IEMA. She also held the Chairperson position at NGO Designathon Works for a number of years. Relentlessly working to advance industry standards for culture, leadership, and employee empowerment, she brings her voice to debate and conversation, through live speaker opportunities and panels, podcasts, interviews, and thought leadership pieces in the media. Her loves include family and friends, music, remaining closely connected to news and cultural developments from around the world, and all things food.

Professor Simon Pollard OBE DSc FREng is an environmental engineer (Imperial College, PhD; Cranfield University, DSc) with 35 years’ experience in environmental protection and the green economy, Simon is a leading international authority in environmental risk management, having directed institutes for Government and the Research Councils; drafted Government guidelines on environmental risk; and championed risk centres for EPSRC and NERC. Simon has served Cranfield University for over twenty years in a senior capacity as Head of Department, Dean of Faculty, and Pro-Vice Chancellor for the School of Water, Energy and Environment (2014-2021) and Pro-Vice-Chancellor International (2018-2024).

For nine years, Simon led the university’s internationalisation strategy, progressed a set of strategic partnerships with international universities and developed new transnational education opportunities with Muscat (2017-22) and Jiangsu Universities (2018-). His work on ‘responsible internationalisation’ led to a reset of Cranfield’s approach to academic partnerships in the rapidly changing geopolitical climate. Beyond academe, Simon has contributed to numerous Government and research committees; has chaired several public service fora; and was an editor of the international academic journal Science of the Total Environment for sixteen years. He is an active contributor to the Royal Academy of Engineering, of which he is a Fellow, and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2020.